Research
As I discussed in my previous post I am currently thinking up some research ideas to create a research proposal and continue this on through into my second year to write a research article. My ideas have been flowing this week and I have been conveying these through visual mind maps and reading various articles! I have considered my own personal passions and interests and have realised it may be important to focus on my strengths and interests throughout this research adventure as this will be a very motivating factor.
So far my interests and thoughts are based on:
- Creative arts
- Art as an occupation
- Art and creative activities as an intervention in physical OT settings
- History of craft in OT
- Long term conditions
- Autism
- Is creativity a factor as to why people choose to study OT
This then got me thinking about art as an occupation. I began reflecting - what does art mean to me?
I have always been passionate about art from as early as I can remember. My first achievement I can recall was receiving a head teachers award for a drawing I did of a daffodil in year 2 of my brand new primary school. It made me feel accepted, and I loved the feeling of achievement this gave me as opposed to the feelings of fear and failure regarding my maths lessons! (I never did get any better at maths).
From this, art was a leisurely activity for me as a child however, it became a vocational achievement for me throughout my school years. I subsequently did my GCSE in art (frequently told off by my teacher for my expressive mark making techniques - telling me it was wrong to blend and smudge colours together). I carried on regardless - I mean, how can any art be wrong? That was my argument...Ask the great Picasso or Willem De Kooning their opinions... I'm sure they would agree. I went on to gain a distinction in a BTEC national diploma in art and a BA (hons) in Fine Art.
Furthermore - the meaning of my discussion is this. Art and being creative for me is a very personal experience. It is or can be an expression of my feelings, how I view the world around me or a representation of how I have experienced a situation. It is an achievement for me and something I feel a confidence and a passion about.
A discussion this week with some of my peers around writing this blog highlighted that I actually don't mind writing this blog and having different people viewing it and learning about me as a person and sharing their experiences. However, I would feel anxious over someone viewing a piece of my art work - purely because it is a very personal thing to me, an achievement and a passion - and criticism may take this away from me.
So how do I use art as an occupation?
- Leisure
- Therapeutic use for myself
- Inspiration
- To learn
- To Achieve
- To support others
Within this blog you may have seen I used art within my case study for Joan Rivers as a means to express, understand and explore her life and occupations. This is a good example of how I use art to learn when I'm feeling inspired.
Therapeutic use for myself - As I have been reflecting I have realised that on many occasions I have used art as an occupation to support me to overcome a difficult situation or to deal with grief. Here is an example I would like to share with you:
This piece of art was part of a series I created to support me through the death of my Grandad. My grandad was a huge part of my life and when he passed away during my studies - It had a hard affect on me, to the point I almost quit my degree. I created this work based on the empty house and objects he had left behind, which had so much meaning when he was living there - however then seemed so empty and lost. I wanted to represent the feeling of loss and the feeling of memories and life that people can give to objects and places.
Producing this art work really did support me and had a positive effect on my well-being. Distracting me from a difficult situation however, guiding me through the grieving process which I so needed to go through. Most importantly it helped me to focus on the positives and so many happy times I shared with my grandad.
Moreover, this is agreed within various articles I have been researching. Particularly in life threatening or long term conditions that art and creative activities can support people to feel less stressed, increased self esteem, transforming an illness experience, gaining a sense of of self, expression and building social support ( Perruza & Kinsella 2010, Reynolds & Prior 2006, Schmid 2003, Reynolds 2003).
This reflects my personal experience of art and creativity throughout my life.
Further to this I found these articles online:
This lady had her wish granted to visit an art exhibition she so longed to see. I feel this is amazing, as art had a huge impact upon her life and to visit an art gallery was a very important occupation for her to fulfil.
This is a fantastic representation of how individuals with long term conditions can use art and creative techniques as a means to express their feelings and cope with the many varied challenges of MS.
Another example I can share with you is the artwork I created during the traumatic experience of my cat getting ran over and the horrific injuries she sustained:
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| Painting studies. |
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| Textile and mixed media study. |
On creating these pieces of art it not only helped me through a difficult time - it gained me the confidence to have my own pet portraits website, where I began taking orders and creating pet portraits for people! It opened up more occupational opportunities and made me realise the affect of pets on the health and well being of people and how much people love their pets (however, going down that route I feel would open another can of worms which I am extremely interested in).
In my experience throughout my life I get quite negative reactions from people on telling them I did a degree in fine art "what? you did a degree in colouring in?!" Is a popular reaction I get. On reading this I hope people realise how valid an occupation art is and can be. I am very proud of the achievements I have gained and the many things in my life and career that art has enabled me to gain. I was able to support adults with autism through creative arts in my job which gained me the experience and transferable skills to study OT... Which moves on to my next point. The reasons people choose to study OT. One of the reasons for me is based on the history of OT and the fact you can use creativity within OT practice. This is also found in the research by Craik et al (2003). However, based within many physical settings I have yet to use any creative techniques with people.
I feel this would be a valid occupation or intervention for people with physical conditions and I feel OT has somewhat lost it's creative roots through budgets, time constraints and a medical model focus on our profession in an attempt to promote and advocate the profession.
I know it is important to keep a medical focus but I say bring more creative activities and occupations back! Lets go back to the roots of our awesome profession of which I am very proud to be studying.
This has been a personal reflection for me and as you can tell it is something I feel quite passionate about. I'm hoping to base my research proposal around some of these ideas and I will attend my dissertation module launch on Wednesday to explore and synthesise my ideas further.
The daffodil remains my favourite flower - Is this because it is a symbol of spring and it reminds me of sunshine? Possibly, but now on reflection I have realised why. Art is powerful stuff.
References:
Craik C. Gissane C. Douthwaite J. Phillip E. (2011) 'Factors Influencing the Career Choice of First-Year Occupational Therapy Students' British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64(3), pp. 114-120.
Peruzza N. Kinsella A. (2010) ' Creative Arts Occupations in Therapeutic Practice: A Review of the Literature.' British Journal of Occupational therapy 73(6) pp. 261-268.
Reynolds F. Prior S. (2006) 'Creative Adventures and Flow in Art-Making: A Qualitative Study of Women Living With Cancer'. British Journal of Occupational Therapy 69(6), pp. 255- 262.
Reynolds F. (2003) 'Reclaiming a Positive Identity in Chronic Illness Through Artistic Occupation' OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health. 23(3) pp. 118-127.
Schmid T. (2004) ' Meanings of Creativity Within Occupational Therapy Practice' Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 51 pp. 80-88.
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